User Guide
750words.com is a privately hosted site designed to encourage users to write each day, understand more about the text that they produce, and engage in a wider network of supporters. This website challenges users to write 750 words each day in the tradition of morning pages, which is a free writing technique intended to foster regular, uncensored writing. The site turns writing into a gamified competition, with assigned points for reaching continued daily goals and earned badges to demonstrate sustained success in the online composition community User Guide Using 750words.com The site founders list the ultimate goal of the site to teach users to write every day and engage in their writing in an active manner. To support online users in their writing, this site is easy to use and free for a 30 day trial. After this period, the fee for using this site and its features is $5 a month. Signing In Users are able to sign up for an account through the homepage of the site accessed through 750words.com. Once on this homepage, you can create a new account through clicking on the “signing up now” hyperlink. This will direct you to a page where you provide your name, a valid email address, and a password of your choosing. A confirmation link will be sent to your inbox within minutes, and after this is received, you will be able to begin your use of the site. When returning after signing up, the “Log in” button is on the upper right hand corner of the screen. You will be asked for your email address and password. Now you are ready to begin your use of this site! Begin Writing on the Site Signing into the site will take you directly to your typing screen. If, at any point, you have moved to another place on the site and would like to return to your typing, click on the 750 Words icon, and you may continue to your typed words for that day. This technology presents writing in a delineated context. Void of distractions, with only a white screen and limited stylistic control of the output, writers need not even construct a title before writing. A word count of the screen is located at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. In the FAQ section, the webmasters justify this choice by asserting that formatting “gets in the way of just writing.” Most of the interfacing of the site is ubiquitous, meaning there it is straight-forward with few features. Under the “Settings” tab, the “Customize page” option included the possibility of changing the font family, font size, font color, background color, and header color. This puts the user in control of their output. There is an automatic save function every ten seconds, but, as shared by the site’s creator, a keyboard shortcut of command/control-s saves work. Because there are no other hidden features on this site, the focus is put entirely on writing on this intuitive, easy-to-use space. Mastering Site Gamification While typing, be aware of the gameified nature of this site. To encourage users to keep writing, the site tracks how often they write through the progress bar. When you complete 750 words, the empty rectangle will be crossed off and you will be able to track how often you complete your goals. You will also receive points for your consistency, which corresponds to badges which are visible on your social profile. Although these badges, pictures of animals, have no monetary value, they are visible on each user’s profile. These badges encourage users to take their writing less seriously and also provide an objective for reaching goals. Navigating the Social Network 750words also strives to connect you with other writers. With your registration on the site, you also receive a social profile that under the “Today” tab, “Today’s writers” lists those who have completed their word count for the day. For each user, you will have the ability to follow them through a link under their badge and name on this site. By following other users, you will have access to their daily stats under the “People you’re following” tab. The implementation of a social network encourages writers on the site and connects them with external reinforcement. Understanding the Statistical Analysis Also under the aforementioned tab is the “View today’s stats” option. Here, you will be able to track some of the trends in your writing, which can help you better understand your writing process through graphs, statistical outputs, and word clouds. The goal of this analysis is to produce heightened engagement and self-awareness of your writing process. Output 1 tracks how quickly you are able to type your entries. This will show how quickly and consistently you write. You can use this to better understand your times of top productivity during the day in order to respond accordingly. The site also provides information on your mindset while writing as well as time and sense orientation, as seen in Output 2. 750words.com also performs a word count analysis and provides a cloud diagram to show which words are used most frequently. This aims to help writers better understand the subject matter they write about and what they communicate through their writing. Sharing Your Progress 750words.com also extends the writing process to other social media spheres though an option to share daily statistics with other users on the site and also for posting on either Facebook or Twitter. Daily statistics may also be shared online automatically. Posts may be easily printed or published on other platforms, making it an interactive matrix that allows writers to share and revise what they write. In this regards, writers are able to differentiate between writing for a larger audience, traditional blogging and status updating, and producing content only for themselves. Frequently Asked Questions What makes this site any different from using a word processor or notebook? By using 750 words.com, you be able to keep your writing on a password protected, archived site. Although morning pages are traditionally completed with pen and paper, writing on a computer is often much quicker, while also providing privacy and access to digital analytic tools. 750words.com also provides users with a distraction-free, community-based writing platform that archives daily entries with the capability to statistically investigate what is written. Can I export my writing from the site? You can print your entries directly from the site by selecting the print icon next to the date at the top of the screen. Each passage may be exported directly to other social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. Since each entry is unformatted, it may also be easily copy and pasted to other processors or platforms. Why are there fees for the use of this site? In response to increasing use of the site and financial pressures, since 2013, the site transformed from being free of charge for users to charging a low monthly fee of $5 after a free 30 day trial. This nominal fee not only motivates users to actively engage with the software, but also serves as an assurance that the content that the writer produces remains private. The site is hosted on a private server without advertisements, which means that a user’s writing will never be data mined for marketing purposes. There are no plans to support advertisements on the site, as this may intrude on user privacy. How can I give my feedback for improving my 750words experience? Users are encouraged to submit their suggestions for improving the site through the satisfaction and feedback page. There is also an open-sourced feed users are able to discuss their problems with the site and offer quick fixes within the community. In the initial registration email, users are also invited to respond directly with any questions or concern regarding the site. Does my writing stay private on this site? Yes. Unlike blogs or social media sites, the writing completed on 750words is private and password-protected. As the site does not sell advertisements, so nothing that you write will be mined or examined by other members unless you decide to export the text. What are the benefits from using this site? 750words helps establish a writing routine for users, providing a straight-forward platform to experiment with computing in digital spaces. The social and gameified reinforcement also encourages production. The metadata tools of this site can also be enlightening, as users can better understand their top productivity and subject matter. User Reviews “I have always loved writing, but always had a problem sticking to it. This site has helped me begin to look forward to writing. 750 words a day seemed like a writing goal I couldn’t try to reach for every day. But I have found that 750 words aren’t enough to write.” “750 words is awesome. I often journal to get thoughts and feelings off my chest, and sometimes I have absolutely no interest in ever encountering that information again. This site helps me get all the ugly off my chest while allowing me to search for things that I’d enjoy seeing again.” “This site is great! I’ve always wanted to start a journaling habit, and have tried many times throughout my life and failed. Until I found 750words.com! Personal writing every day has been great for understanding my sub-conscious thoughts, and $5 a month isn’t much for something I utilize every day!” Category:Eng460 Category:750words.com Category:User Guide Category:User Reviews Category:Frequently Asked Questions